United States v. William Craig III

12 F.3d 1101
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 3, 1993
Docket93-1761
StatusUnpublished

This text of 12 F.3d 1101 (United States v. William Craig III) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. William Craig III, 12 F.3d 1101 (7th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

12 F.3d 1101

NOTICE: Seventh Circuit Rule 53(b)(2) states unpublished orders shall not be cited or used as precedent except to support a claim of res judicata, collateral estoppel or law of the case in any federal court within the circuit.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee,
v.
William CRAIG III, Defendant/Appellant.

No. 93-1761.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Oct. 6, 1993.
Decided Dec. 2, 1993.
As Amended Dec. 3, 1993.

Before MANION and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and PELL, Senior Circuit Judge.

ORDER

William Craig III appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence that police officers obtained after arresting him in the garage of his home in Merrillville, Indiana. Because the district court correctly determined that the arresting officers had probable cause to arrest Craig and that exigent circumstances justified their warrantless entry into his garage to make the arrest, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts are undisputed. Sheila Morrow was employed at the South Suburban Postal Facility located in Bedford Park, Illinois. On March 5, 1992, at approximately 12:20 p.m., Morrow was shot as she left her office at the Postal Facility. The course of the bullet through Morrow's body suggested that she had been shot from the catwalk above the Postal Facility's workroom, across the hall from the entrance to her office.

That morning, Morrow had met with Craig at the Postal Facility, where Craig was employed as a letter-sorting machine operator. During this meeting Morrow had accused Craig of falsifying his time card in order to draw overtime pay to which he was not entitled. Craig denied any wrongdoing, contending that he had been working for other supervisors during the time in question. Morrow escorted Craig to meetings with several other supervisors, all of whom reported that they had not requested that Craig work any overtime hours. Craig was seen leaving the Facility at 9:20 a.m. and was not scheduled to return until 10:30 that evening (Craig's regular hours of work were 10:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.). Thereafter Morrow met with Richard Melton, the controller of the Facility, to tell him about Craig's phantom overtime hours and about her confrontation with Craig that morning.

A nurse on duty at the Facility attended to Morrow immediately after the shooting. Morrow related to the nurse that she had not seen who had shot her but told the nurse to "tell Mr. Melton, the man we spoke about this morning, get him." Morrow also stated that she had seen the man she "got into it with" that morning at the Facility. Paramedics then rushed Morrow to the hospital. The nurse relayed Morrow's statements to Melton, who reported to Postal Inspectors that Morrow had been shot, that Morrow had a confrontation with Craig three hours before she was shot, that Craig, although not scheduled to work, had been seen at the Postal Facility that morning, and that he believed Craig had shot Morrow.

Postal Inspector Eduardo Santa Cruz recognized Craig's name from a handwritten letter that he had received from Craig nine days earlier. The letter stated that "auto burglaries have become rampant on the postal parking lot [at the Postal Facility]." Craig noted in this letter that his car had been burglarized in December of 1991 and that other postal employees had been victimized as well. The letter concluded: "This violation causes undue stress and anxiety on ones [sic] workmanship. I feel if something is not done about this, violence will be eventual. This we must avoid. Will you please look into this?"

At approximately 1:00 p.m. postal inspectors in Chicago contacted Postal Inspector Richard Ligon in Indiana about the shooting. They told him that Craig, who lived in Merrillville, had a confrontation with the victim that morning and that Craig was a suspect in the shooting. They also read Ligon Craig's letter about the burglary of his automobile and informed him that Craig had been seen at the Postal Facility that morning. Ligon gave Craig's address to a dispatcher at the Merrillville Police Department and told him that Craig might be headed home. Craig's home was about an hour's drive from the Postal Facility. Ligon arrived at Craig's residence at about 1:18 p.m., where he was met by Sergeant Paul DeHaven of the Merrillville Police Department. DeHaven informed Ligon that Craig's home was under surveillance by police officers in several unmarked police cars.

At approximately 1:23 p.m. (approximately one hour after the shooting), Craig drove down the street and into his driveway. He was unaware that police officers were watching his every move. Craig opened the door to his garage (which was attached to his residence) with an electric garage door opener. As Craig drove into his garage, Postal Inspector Ligon, Sergeant DeHaven, and Detective Kenneth O'Deen sprinted toward Craig's garage with their guns drawn. By this time the garage door had begun to close. DeHaven grabbed the door and pulled it open, ripping the door off its metal track. As they entered the garage DeHaven and O'Deen announced that they were police officers, but Craig did not hear the announcement and did not become aware of the presence of the police until after they were in his garage. DeHaven again announced that he was a police officer and directed Craig to exit his truck. Craig complied and walked to the rear of his truck where, at DeHaven's direction, he lay on his stomach. As he lay on his driveway being handcuffed, Craig inquired, "What's this all about?" DeHaven responded, "You know what it's about." Craig replied, "Yes, I do," or "Yes, I know." DeHaven then told him, in substance, "You're okay she's alive; we're here to get the gun." Craig told him that the gun was in his truck. DeHaven walked to the front passenger side of Craig's truck, looked inside, and saw a handgun in plain view. DeHaven seized the handgun, a loaded .38 caliber revolver.

Following his arrest, Craig was taken to the Merrillville police station. There he denied having any "arguments or altercations" with anyone that morning. He admitted that he had returned to the Postal Facility around noon that day to pick up a job application for his brother but denied shooting anyone. He claimed that he was minding his own business when an unknown man pulled a gun on him, forced him onto the catwalk overlooking the workroom, and made him watch while he fired one round through the window or floor of the catwalk. According to Craig, the man then pressed the gun into Craig's hand, pulled out another gun, and told Craig to leave. Craig stated that he drove home but never contacted any law enforcement authorities about the incident.

Craig was charged by indictment with assaulting an employee of the United States Postal Service with a deadly weapon in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 111, using a firearm in connection with a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c), and attempting to murder an employee of the United States Postal Service in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1114. Craig moved to suppress the revolver that was found in his truck and the statements that he made at the police station on the ground that the evidence was obtained as the result of an unlawful, warrantless arrest.

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